Analysis of Methods of Performance Evaluation of Direct-Detection Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Communication Systems

The performance assessment of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing signals in direct-detection transmission systems by using the error vector magnitude and several bit error ratio approaches is analyzed and compared through numerical simulation. It is shown that excellent accuracy of the bit error ratio estimates is obtained by a semi-analytical Gaussian approach for all the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing system configurations analyzed and that the error vector magnitude only provides reliable estimates of the system performance when the system is dominantly impaired by noise. Additionally, a novel Q-factor approach for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing optical signals showing improved bit error ratio estimates is also presented.